There’s one more chance to get free COVID-19 tests by mail before the winter holiday season.
Starting Nov. 20, 2023, households in the U.S. can order another round of four rapid COVID-19 tests for free from the government. To order your free tests, go to COVIDTests.gov. They will then be delivered by mail via the United States Postal Service.
Now is the time to stock up on tests in preparation for possible winter surges in viral illnesses, public health officials urge.
“We do expect COVID, flu and RSV circulation to increase as we get deeper into fall and into winter,” CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen said on a Nov. 8 call with reporters. “Nationally, levels of respiratory illnesses are lower than what we saw at this time last year, so that’s good news,” Cohen said. “But we’re starting to see activity go up.”
Although COVID-19 hospitalizations have been declining for the past few weeks, those numbers have started to plateau and even increase in some areas of the country, she said. “While we’re no longer in the emergency phase, COVID is still with us,” Cohen added.
Flu and RSV cases have also started to pick up in the U.S., according to CDC estimates. Although overall numbers across the country remain low, “we are now seeing sustained increases across the country,” Alicia Budd, head of the domestic influenza surveillance team at the CDC, told NBC News.
“We expect that we’re going to continue to see many more weeks of increasing flu activity,” Budd said.
In addition to stocking up on COVID-19 tests, the public can get their flu vaccines and updated COVID-19 vaccines. This year, new RSV vaccines are also available for pregnant people and older adults. At least 17 million people in the U.S. have received the new COVID-19 vaccines as of early November, according to data from pharmacies, Cohen said.
